The base stitching is finished. From this distance, it’s hard to make out the image in the midst all the pattern, but if you zoom in you will see it.
Every new piece brings its own discoveries. When it was time to dye this one, I decided to work with high key colors rather than the deeper tones one might associate with an octopus’ habitat. The next days will be spent figuring out how to merge the two (background and figure) so that neither overpowers the other, or gets lost.
Folded, with resist stitching in place, the dyed piece looks darker when it is still wet.
This is the exciting part: seeing how the dye and pattern are absorbed into the embroidery.
These photos are a log of this past week’s progress. I can’t stress enough how many decisions take place as I go along. There are constant questions and challenges to each choice (is the outline too dark? How can I keep the stitched rectangle background obvious without overdoing it? How much of the shibori pattern can, or should, remain within the figure of the octopus?)
I am planning to use red tones to define this guy, but it will also have to include some of these other colors so as to play on the camouflage effect.
Now that the piece has been completely outlined, the real fun of blending and playing with color can begin.
Every hurdle presents a puzzle and the potential for new revelations to add to my “toolkit”. The fact that the road ahead is uneven is a big part of what brings joy to this work.
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Who, besides yourself, are you trying to please with your work? Once again, Danny Gregory lights the way in his recent blog post How Not to Give A Damn.
Wow! What you’ve accomplished up to this point is so unexpected and wonderful. I can totally relate to the myriad decisions that go into even the simplest piece, and this one is quite complex. Your use of the complementary color to outline the octopus provides definition but lets him/her remain part of the surrounding background thereby keeping the illusion being elusive.
I’m eagerly anticipating your next step(s).
Your input is much appreciated Diane and I know you understand the ups and downs of all the decisions. Thanks for weighing in.
Beautiful lines and colors…the red outline is stunning! Looking forward to this shy guy’s evolution.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I find it so satisfying when one color provides exactly the “voice” that is needed. Hopefully the red will continue to hold its own.
Can’t wait to see what’s in store for this guy.
I meant to mention last week that the audible version of Nell Painter’s book, Old in Art School, is fantastic. She reads it herself and is a wonderful reader.
Thanks for telling me about this, Margaret. I think there has to be an extra layer that an author brings to an audio version of her book that you might not get by reading the paper version. I’ll bet Painter is especially dynamic.